One year ago we brought this puppy home. Her mother—a stray Lab —had birthed her babies on the side of a freeway and hidden them in nearby bushes. After they were rescued and settled in a foster home, we met the litter and fell for Zoe. She was too young to be adopted, so we […]
parenting
Pass the Mead, Please
If you’ve never heard of mead, it’s an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey. People used to drink the stuff from tankards in places that were accurately called MEAD HALLS. Think Canterbury Tales. And Camelot. Mead halls were happening in Ye Olde Times. But we’re in COVID 19 times now. And I’m getting ahead of […]
Moving the Goal Post
For most of my life, I didn’t want to be simply good at something; I wanted to be the best. The best daughter. Sister. Singer. Teacher. Wife. Mother. Friend. The problem with trying to be the best at something is that best is highly subjective. It’s an ever-moving goal post. So I shifted from trying to […]
For My Daughter On Her Birthday
On July 14th, 1999, you made me complete. A nurse slipped you into my arms (all four pounds, fourteen ounces of sticky skin and soft bone), and I looked down at your tiny face and knew you for my own. These trembling hands were cradling the first great-granddaughter; the first niece; the first sister of […]
A New Beginning
For the June meeting of our writing group, the 10-minute writing prompt was this: A new beginning… A couple of members wrote about the fact that the word “beginning” implies “new” and therefore the prompt was somewhat problematic — and, that’s what happens when you get six smart/snarky women together in the same room with […]
More Flagrante, Less Delicto
Like many of you fine people, I appreciate a good dose of irony. In literature. In life. In Alanis Morissette lyrics. (Hey. Let’s not get nit-picky.) Still, there’s something a little bit ironic I can’t support when it comes to parenting. And that irony is this: The very act responsible for creating a baby becomes […]
What Happens in Writing Group Stays in Writing Group Except When it Doesn’t
*Below is my response to a ten-minute writing exercise from our February meeting. The prompt: Describe “That Moment.” My friend Charlene shared hers first. She inspired me to share mine, too. — We were at brunch, just the three of us, a special treat, for sure. I probably had an omelet with a bagel and cream […]
A Hill to Live On
My home sits near the top of a hill. A big hill. Half a mile up, and pretty steep. We moved here in 2001 after I stumbled upon the house on Mother’s Day. Our kids were not quite two and four, and I’d been getting them ready for brunch with my parents. When Bill noticed […]
Ready or Not: When You’re Facing the Empty Nest
My kids leave for college in one week. Both of my kids. All of my kids. Next Tuesday they’ll drive 13ish hours to Eugene, Oregon in Jack’s car. Bill and I are flying up Wednesday to settle Karly into her dorm and Jack into his apartment. Two days later, Bill and I will board the […]
Mother Knows Best
In my earliest memories, she wears a long blue robe and smells like coffee. My dad offers goodbye kisses to her, my little sister and me. Then he goes to work. He’s a high school Spanish teacher. My mother’s work is us. She is young, in her early twenties, ironing clothes in our den. Love, […]